At the core of our philosophy is the belief that the most powerful force in the world is the individual who has realized their power to do good. At Points of Light, we inspire, equip and connect nonprofits, businesses and individuals ready to apply their time, talent, voice and resources to solve society’s greatest challenges.

Privacy Policy

Our Commitment

Points of Light has adopted and implemented this privacy policy as part of our commitment to protecting your personal information from misuse. While this policy focuses on online collection of information related to your interaction with Points of Light’s website (the “website”), it applies to Points of Light’s collection policies in general.

The website’s registration, online surveys, contest and product order forms may ask users to provide personally identifiable information in one of three ways: through contact information (including, without limitation, name, address, phone number (home, work and/or cell), fax number and email address), demographic information (including, without limitation, race, gender, ethnicity, and age) and, in some cases, financial information (including, without limitation, organizational income (when on behalf of an organization) and credit card number (when on behalf of an individual). Some information will be required for you to avail yourself of that particular feature of the website. None of this personally identifiable information will be shared with third parties or used to market third party products or services; it will only be used as described below.

From time to time, we may use the standard “cookie” feature of major browser applications that allows us to store data about your visit. Cookies help us learn which areas of our site are useful and which areas need improvement. We do not set any personally identifiable information in cookies, nor do we employ any data capture mechanisms on our website other than cookies. You may configure your web browser to prevent cookies from being set on your computer.

Points of Light may also gather anonymous, or aggregate, information, which may be used by us or shared with third parties. This is information which does not personally identify you, but which may be helpful for marketing purposes or for improving the services we offer. Generally, this information is collected through “traffic data” and may entail the use of numeric codes used to identify a computer.

We use personally identifiable information from our online registration, survey, contest and order forms to send you information about Points of Light and its various projects and initiatives, or to communicate with you about a project in which you are participating. If you supply contact information, it may also be used to contact you for other purposes.

We may use cookies to save your password so you don’t have to re-enter it each time you visit our site, and for other purposes.

Points of Light may use your IP address (the number assigned to your computer while it is on the Internet) to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our website. If you shop on the website, your IP address may be used to help identify your computer and your online “shopping cart” and to gather broad demographic information. If you submit financial information, it will be used to check your qualifications and to bill you for products and services you have ordered.

Points of Light may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Points of Light or its subsidiaries or affiliates; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Points of Light or the users of this website, and (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of the website’s users.

The types of donor information that Points of Light (POL) collects and maintains include, but are not limited to:

Information on events attended, publications received and special requests for POL information;

Information provided by the donor in the form of comments and suggestions.

The use and collection of information about donors is limited to that which is necessary to administer POL’s development operation.

POL uses donors’ information to understand their interests in its mission, to update them on POL’s plans and activities, to acknowledge and provide a tax receipt for donations, to respond to donor inquiries or questions about POL, and as part of POL’s donor database. POL will not lend, sell, or rent mailing lists of our donors to any third party. Donors may request to have their names deleted from any and all POL mailing lists.

POL will not guarantee complete anonymity of gifts, pursuant to IRS reporting requirements for charitable organizations.

Donor Bill of Rights*

The Donor Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits. It has been endorsed by numerous organizations.

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.

To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

We may make various public forums (such as chat rooms) and functions available to you. During these activities, you will have the option to add additional personal information that is beyond the information gathered at registration. Any information you choose to share when using any of these forums or functions becomes public information. It is incumbent upon you to exercise caution in deciding whether to disclose such information.

This website contains links to other websites. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies, reliability or content of such sites.

Points of Light respects the sensitive nature of children’s privacy online. We are a general audience site, and do not direct our content specifically at children under thirteen (13) years of age. If Points of Light learns that a user is under age 13, Points of Light will delete the child’s information from our systems.

The website uses encrypted authentication technology when you login to the website in an effort to provide a secure environment that is protected from third party access, alteration, theft or misuse of the personal information gathered or confirmed at registration.

Points of Light gives you the opportunity to change or modify information you have previously provided by sending an email to [email protected].

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your interaction with website, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

The website’s registration, online surveys, contest and product order forms may ask users to provide personally identifiable information in one of three ways: through contact information (including, without limitation, name, address, phone number (home, work and/or cell), fax number and email address), demographic information (including, without limitation, race, gender, ethnicity, and age) and, in some cases, financial information (including, without limitation, organizational income (when on behalf of an organization) and credit card number (when on behalf of an individual). Some information will be required for you to avail yourself of that particular feature of the website. None of this personally identifiable information will be shared with third parties or used to market third party products or services; it will only be used as described below.

From time to time, we may use the standard “cookie” feature of major browser applications that allows us to store data about your visit. Cookies help us learn which areas of our site are useful and which areas need improvement. We do not set any personally identifiable information in cookies, nor do we employ any data capture mechanisms on our website other than cookies. You may configure your web browser to prevent cookies from being set on your computer.

Points of Light may also gather anonymous, or aggregate, information, which may be used by us or shared with third parties. This is information which does not personally identify you, but which may be helpful for marketing purposes or for improving the services we offer. Generally, this information is collected through “traffic data” and may entail the use of numeric codes used to identify a computer.

We use personally identifiable information from our online registration, survey, contest and order forms to send you information about Points of Light and its various projects and initiatives, or to communicate with you about a project in which you are participating. If you supply contact information, it may also be used to contact you for other purposes.

We may use cookies to save your password so you don’t have to re-enter it each time you visit our site, and for other purposes.

Points of Light may use your IP address (the number assigned to your computer while it is on the Internet) to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our website. If you shop on the website, your IP address may be used to help identify your computer and your online “shopping cart” and to gather broad demographic information. If you submit financial information, it will be used to check your qualifications and to bill you for products and services you have ordered.

Points of Light may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Points of Light or its subsidiaries or affiliates; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Points of Light or the users of this website, and (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of the website’s users.

Information on events attended, publications received and special requests for POL information;

Information provided by the donor in the form of comments and suggestions.

The use and collection of information about donors is limited to that which is necessary to administer POL’s development operation.

POL uses donors’ information to understand their interests in its mission, to update them on POL’s plans and activities, to acknowledge and provide a tax receipt for donations, to respond to donor inquiries or questions about POL, and as part of POL’s donor database. POL will not lend, sell, or rent mailing lists of our donors to any third party. Donors may request to have their names deleted from any and all POL mailing lists.

POL will not guarantee complete anonymity of gifts, pursuant to IRS reporting requirements for charitable organizations.

Donor Bill of Rights*

The Donor Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits. It has been endorsed by numerous organizations.

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.

To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

We may make various public forums (such as chat rooms) and functions available to you. During these activities, you will have the option to add additional personal information that is beyond the information gathered at registration. Any information you choose to share when using any of these forums or functions becomes public information. It is incumbent upon you to exercise caution in deciding whether to disclose such information.

Points of Light respects the sensitive nature of children’s privacy online. We are a general audience site, and do not direct our content specifically at children under thirteen (13) years of age. If Points of Light learns that a user is under age 13, Points of Light will delete the child’s information from our systems.

The website uses encrypted authentication technology when you login to the website in an effort to provide a secure environment that is protected from third party access, alteration, theft or misuse of the personal information gathered or confirmed at registration.

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your interaction with website, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light… We all have something to give.
" — President George H.W. Bush, Founder of Points of Light